Display cases are used in many stores to display items for sale, particulary small and valuable items which some members of the public might otherwise be tempted to misappropriate. As is well known, both floor mounted and counter mounted display cases are known. The present invention is directed to a counter mounted display case for displaying relatively small items for sale such as small items of jewelry.
In the prior art, counter mounted display cases have been utilized which are fully capable of displaying several items of jewelry or other small items and keeping them relatively secure. For example, prior art display cases are known which are formed of an upright cylindar of transparent plastic of about one foot in diameter and eighteen inches in heigth. An axially arranged rod holds two end caps securely in place and the displayed jewelry is supported from the rod.
The jewlry displayed in the case is preferably changed from time to time as the store changes its stock with the seasons. Usually the case remains the property of the distributor who sells the jewelry to the store. Typically the entire case is returned to the distributor for updating its contents while the distributor's sales force substitutes an updated case for the case presently being used at the store.
This requires the distributor to maintain a number of display cases merely to support the aforedescribed process of substitution and updating the contents of the cases. Of course, these display cases are not then being used to market jewelry. As might be expected, this prior art display case system requires considerable capital investment for (1) the display cases actively being used in the retail stores, (2) the jewelry sealed in those display cases, (3) the display cases reserved to support the substitution and updating process and (4) the jewelry in the last mentioned display cases.
It was therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved display case for jewelry or the like items requiring less capital investment than the prior art designs and being relatively easy to update with new design items, yet secure.
It was another object to provide a case having modular display units.